Bismarck Pride's New Homepage
The final tinkering of Bismarck Pride’s newest design and layout is now complete, and its launch happens to coincide with Bismarck Pride’s 2-year anniversary.
The idea for Bismarck Pride began when I first returned to Bismarck after a near four-year stint in Minneapolis. I hadn’t realized just how great Bismarck was until spending time away from it. My desire to return home turned into an obsession, and as I began to explore some of the city’s history, I was shocked to discover just how much there actually was, and how many important events had occured that I had never heard of. I decided to make it my mission to expand everyone’s knowledge about the city and surrounding region.
What would eventually turn into Bismarck Pride began as a much simpler concept, under a completely different name and URL – “This Is Bismarck”. All the initial website tests were conducted under that banner, however “BismarckPride.com” was ultimately chosen before the site launched in November 2007 as a more easily recognizable and marketable name.
The original “This Is Bismarck” website was nowhere near what Bismarck Pride has become. It only featured a small background page, a few pictures, and apartment listings. Before even launching, the concept site had grown considerably, adding most of the sections that are still featured today, including the Bismarck Dictionary.
Over the past couple years, Bismarck Pride has continued to expand and grow by adding new sections and other all-exclusive content, including hundreds of high-quality pictures. Bismarck Pride launched its blog in November 2008, which is quickly becomming one of the site’s largest focuses. The intent of the blog is to provide a different perspective on news and topics than what you’ll normally find in corporate-driven news outlets, in addition to featured special articles. Also making its debut that month was Bismarck Pride’s first tribute video.
In April 2009, desktop wallpaper began appearing on Bismarck Pride. Last July, Bismarck Pride published its entire history section in a free PDF downloadable book entitled “The Complete Story of Bismarck, North Dakota”.
Bismarck Pride’s biggest design change came last month, with the introduction of several new features, including a searchable database and self-hosted blogs. After nearly a month of tinkering, I am happy to announce the completion of Bismarck Pride’s new website.
With the unveiling of what I hope to finally be a long-lasting layout and design, I thought it’d be fun to take a look back at the progression of Bismarck Pride from its inception to present-day. With that said, let’s now take a look at the many different designs Bismarck Pride’s had over the past two years, along with some designs that just didn’t make it.
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| The very first page test, using the original “This Is Bismarck” name, which was changed prior to launching. | Bismarck Pride as it appeared in November 2007 after officially launching. | A variation on the original layout, with an updated header graphic. |
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| Another alteration to the original layout, this time adjusting the color scheme. | This layout debuted at the end of 2008 with a refreshed link sidebar for a cleaner look. | Again playing with the color scheme in this short-lived turquoise design. |
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| The first “major” design change since Bismarck Pride’s launch was unveiled in spring 2009 – featuring a brand-new logo. | The homepage of the design featured to the left. | Another major design change debuted in October 2009, with a brand-new dropdown navigation menu and freshened look. |
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| The homepage of the design that debuted in October 2009. | After some minor tinkering, Bismarck Pride’s current layout debuted on November 3, 2009. | Bismarck Pride’s Dictionary Section as it appeared in November 2009. |
